Rolls or cylindrical forms of newspapers used as fireplace or combustible logs are old. These commonly exist with or without some type of support or restrainer holding the newspaper in the cylindrical or rolled form. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,333 where simply a rubber band is utilized for holding a roll of newspaper in the rolled form. Also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 28,753 and 199,394 show the application of banding material to a roll of various materials.
However, the prior art does not disclose the arrangement of a newspaper roll retained by means of a sturdy, non-destructive, and reusable type of ring which holds the roll in the cylindrical form and which also stabilizes the roll against tipping action. That is, the newspaper combustible roll of this invention includes a reusable ring of iron which is not destroyed nor even distorted when subjected to an extended fire, but the ring retains the newspaper in the rolled form until it is consumed by the fire. At that time, the ring can be retrieved from the fire location and it can be reused for encircling another bundle of rolled newspapers for reuse as a combustible log.
Further, the roll of newspapers of the combustible log of this invention is arranged so that the conventional folded edge of the newspaper exists only at one end of the log and the conventional free or non-folded edges of the newspaper exists only at the other end of the roll of newspaper and is therefore available for initial ignition by a match or the like in commencing the combustion of the newspaper roll.
Further, the ring portion of the newspaper combustible roll of this invention is also of sufficient weight so that it will cause the roll to bear downwardly while it is being consumed by flames of fire, and therefore the roll will burn in the manner which a normal wood log would burn, rather than have the otherwise unrestrained roll of newspaper unwrap or rise during combustion so that only the individual sheets of the newspaper would be burning separate from each other.